As known in the art, items (e.g., systems, sub-systems and components) that are installed on aircraft need to be reviewed and approved by a governmental aviation-regulating body to ensure that such items comply with applicable standards (e.g., airworthiness and other safety concerns). For example, in the United States the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires any person or company producing replacement or modification parts for installation on a type-certificated product (i.e., aircraft) to obtain a parts manufacturer approval (PMA), which is a combined design and production approval for replacement parts. Also in some instances, a supplemental type certificate (STC) may additionally be needed to approve the design and installation of PMA parts on an aircraft when the PMA parts modify the type certificate (TC).
Since aircraft owners and operators are becoming more and more interested in refurbishing, upgrading or otherwise customizing the aircraft cabin interior with replacement and/or new items such as, for example, seating systems, in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, and lighting systems, it can be appreciated that these replacement and/or new items need to be certified by PMA and/or STC before installation. Certification is made difficult because refurbishing, upgrading or otherwise customizing the aircraft cabin interior has, until now, entailed the use of custom-designed products. One custom-designed product is an aircraft-specific, light-controlling module with a unitary wiring harness that has a customized length or customized connectors terminating the wiring harness. Since the light-controlling module is custom-configured and certified for installation in the environment of one specific aircraft, when the module is adapted for another aircraft (e.g., by changing the wiring harness length or the terminating connector thereof) it can be appreciated that the adapted version of the certified module must be re-certified despite a minor structural change. Because the certification processes involved in obtaining a PMA and/or STC are time-consuming and complicated ordeals for parts manufacturers and/or installers, a pre-certified kit that facilitates installation of a customized aircraft cabin lighting system would be an important improvement in the art.